After what should be an exciting morning and early afternoon of collegiate races, the high schoolers will get their crack at the Lehigh XC course. There are 2 divisions for both girls and boys, the “Brown” and “White” Divisions.
Course Tour from PAMilesplit
https://pa.milesplit.com/videos/444130/lehigh-university-5k-course-tour
Schedule
Race Assignments
“Brown” Division (4:00PM)
Local Ranked Teams:
D3AAA #2 – Hershey
D3AAA #3 – Governor Mifflin
D3AAA #4 – Mechanicsburg
D3AAA #5 – Manheim Township
D3AAA #6 – Exeter Township
D3AAA #9 – Wilson
Governor Mifflin, Hershey, and State College are all likely to be ranked inside the state’s top 10 when PA Milesplit drops their next rankings.
Team Race – This field is stacked with 6 of the top 10 teams in District 3 class AAA. Dallastown seems firm in their #1 ranking and will not be at Lehigh on Friday. That said, the next 5 ranked teams will be competing and its a toss up of who will come out on top. Very little separates these teams on paper. The team competition amongst all of these ranked teams could come down to how each team’s #5 runner performs. From a Central PA fan perspective, the girl’s “Brown” division may be the best team competition of the day!
Projected Top Individuals from Central PA (District 3 and 6) –
Kaitlyn Highduch (so, Governor Mifflin) – The sophomore from Governor Mifflin has already built a strong resume on the season. She won the season opening Keystone Cup at Hempfield in 18:33, then won PTXC 12.2 at Kutztown University with her 18:54, and 2 weekends ago she won Ben Bloser at Big Spring running 18:54. This is the deepest field she has run against so far this season. It will be nice to see how she and the rest of our local athletes match up against Olivia Haas of Blue Mountain (highlighted below).
Olivia Walter (sr, Mechanicsburg) – I have really liked what I have seen so far this season from Olivia Walter. She ran a tremendous final mile at PIAA Foundation to finish in 5th place with a time of 19:22. In each of her last two home meets she has run under 19-minutes. Look for a big 5k XC PR from her on Friday.
Caryn Rippey (sr, Wilson) – Rippey enters Friday coming off of a strong performance at Ben Bloser 2 weeks ago when she placed 2nd running 19:02. She won the Mountain River Run back on September 4th in 18:12. Most recently she ran 18:50 in winning a BCIAA regular season meet at Kutztown on 9/21.
Katie Dallas (sr, Wilson) – Dallas and Rippey give Wilson an incredible boost in team scoring with their low-sticks. Katie is off to her best XC season ever. She placed 1 spot behind Rippey at each of Wilson’s previous two invitationals, running 18:14 at Mountain River Run for 3rd and running 19:15 at Ben Bloser for 3rd. She handed Kaitlyn Highduch her only defeat of the year when they faced off at Wilson in a BCIAA contest back on 9/14, running 18:37 to Highduch’s 18:41.
Brooke Preputnick (jr, Hershey) – Brooke Preputnick has continued to develop as a distance runner and looks to be a real medal contender at states this season. She took home 1st place at The Run for Cholcolate back on 8/31. She then placed 3rd at PTXC 12.2 crossing the finish in 19:14. Last weekend she placed 7th at the Carlisle Invitational running a new PR of 18:54. She may lower that PR even further on Friday.
Hope McKenney (sr, Mechanicsburg) – McKenney is coming off of her strongest performance of the season when she placed 14th in a strong field at PIAA Foundation, clocking a time of 20:14.
Marlee Kwasnica (jr, State College) – Marlee Kwasnica finished runner-up at both the Big Valley Invitational (18:56) on 9/4 and the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational at PSU (19:07) on 9/10. She finished 16th at PIAA Foundation in 20:22.
Ava Shirk (so, Manheim Township) – Shirk placed 8th at the Riverside Kickoff Classic Night Invitational back on 8/27 with a time of 19:30. She was 19th last weekend at PIAA Foundation running 20:31.
Emma Taylor (sr, Hershey) – Was 2nd at the Run for Chocolate (20:31); 9th at PTXC 12.2 (19:39); and last weekend she finished 22nd at Carlisle (19:28).
Raihana Yameogo (sr, Mechanicsburg) – Yameogo has been getting faster as the season progresses. She appears to be a real district medal threat coming off of her 22nd place finish at PIAA Foundation where she ran a time of 20:40.
Ella Wolfe (so, Hempfield) – Wolfe opened her season with a 2nd place finish at the Keystone Cup, running a PR of 19:09. She is coming off of a 29th place finish at the Carlisle Invitational where she ran 19:49.
Elena Barrall (fr, Manheim Township) – A new name to know, Barrall has been slowly creeping up my District 3 individual rankings each week. She made a big leap forward following her 26th place finish at PIAA Foundation (20:47).
Others from Central PA to keep an eye on: Madelyn Holbrook (fr, Exeter Township), Kira Marr (sr, Exeter Township), Jenny Weiss (sr, Manheim Township), Macyn Fogleman (fr, Manheim Township), Ava Lottig (sr, Oley Valley), Amy Devan (jr, State College), Gabby Keith (so, Exeter Township), Lydia Drago (fr, Governor Mifflin), Grace Mangold (sr, Wilson)
Other top competitors in the field:
Olivia Haas (sr, Blue Mountain) – Haas was the class AA state champion last season and is coming off a dominating performance at PIAA Foundation where she ran 18:42. She also won the Centaur Invitational (18:10) and the Lions Invitational (18:17) by wide margins. Haas has ascended into the top echelon of distance running in the country. She has already committed to division 1 powerhouse NC State.
Daphne Banino (sr, Ursuline School, NY) – One of the top distance talents in New York state, Banino owns a mile (note, not 1600m) time of 4:51. She ran 17:51 last weekend at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational to place 3rd.
Ruby Schwelm (fr, Penncrest) – Made her HS debut a good one, winning the Northampton Invitational in 18:34 back on 9/4.
Anna Macdonald (sr, Germantown Friends) – Won the George School Invitational in 18:59 last weekend.
Hailey Reinhard (jr, Emmaus) – Finished 2nd to Ruby Schwelm at Northampton with her time of 19:03.
“White” Division (5:00PM)
Local Ranked Teams:
D3AA #2 Wyomissing
D3AA #3 Berks Catholic
Team Race – Will be fun to watch BCIAA foes Wyomissing and Berks Catholic face off in an invitational setting such as Paul Short. Based on recent BCIAA results, it appears as though Wyomissing may be dealing with some injury issues. They will need to be at full strength if they are to outperform Catholic. While Kennard-Dale and Schuylkill Valley are currently outside of our top 8 in class AA, I do project both to qualify for districts.
Projected Top Individuals from Central PA (District 3 and 6) –
Paige Watson (jr, South Western) – Watson was 4th at the Run for Chocolate (21:27) in late August. 2 weekends ago she finished 16th at Ben Bloser running 20:38.
Michaela Burkey (jr, Berks Catholic) – Burkey finished 5th in the class A/AA division at Ben Bloser, running 20:52. She leads a talented Berks Catholic squad.
Angelina Hammond (so, Kennard-Dale) – Hammond finished 1 spot behind Burkey at Ben Bloser with her time of 20:56. In what was likely a more impressive run, she placed 16th at PIAA FOundation last weekend running 21:16.
Addie Cohen (so, Wyomissing), Lauren Riddle (sr, Wyomissing), and Maddie Hyde (sr, Wyomissing) – Paul Short will be the first time we have seen these ladies in invitational action this season. All three look to be capable of running amongst the best in District 3 class AA. Their success will largely determine if Wyomissing has what it takes to advance to the state championships this season.
Others from Central PA to keep an eye on: Mackenzie Langdon (so, Berks Catholic), Charlotte Crowl (jr, Kennard-Dale)
Other top competitors in the field:
Shana Kearney (so, Bensalem) – May be the favorite to take home the individual title on Friday. Has put together a string of strong performances over the past 4 weekends, most recently placing 6th at PIAA Foundation while running an impressive 19:24. Won her 3 invitationals prior to Foundation: Atkinson Invite on 9/18, Mill Street Run on 9/11, and the Neshaminy Invite on 9.3.
Alli DeLisi (fr, Penn Charter) – Has a pair of runner-up finishes over the past two weekends. Last weekend she finished 2nd at the George School Invitational running 19:07. The weekend before she placed 2nd in her division at the Briarwood Invitational posting a time of 20:34.
Isabella Greco (jr, Lansdale Catholic) – Was 4th in the girls “Champions Race” at Carlisle last weekend in 19:56. Placed 9th in her division at PTXC 12.2 running 20:52. Opened the year with a 6th place finish and time of 19:24 at the Northampton Invitational.